News

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS FOR TUESDAY - 5.31.16

By:

Maya Lindsay

Published Date:

May 31, 2016

Accounting and Finance News Stories

Dollar Bonds Offer a Look at RiskWall Street JournalInvestors trying to assess the dangers of a resurgent emerging-market crisis or the return of troubles in the eurozone should be looking to one of the markets not directly manipulated by central bankers: dollar bonds issued by countries other than the U.S. Yields on these bonds suggest investors think that Russia, one of the biggest emerging markets, is now less risky than Portugal, the next potential point of failure in the eurozone after Greece.

Time For Occupiers To Re-Evaluate Their REGlobeSt.comThe long-awaited date has arrived, or at very least is finally on the calendar. Starting on Jan. 1, 2019, lessees must bring nearly all leases onto their corporate balance sheets under new lease accounting standards adopted domestically by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and globally by the International Accounting Standards Board.

When Bigger Isn’t Better: Banks Retreat From Global AmbitionsWall Street JournalEighteen years ago, Sanford Weill declared the dawn of a new era in banking. Mr. Weill, then chief executive of Travelers Group Inc., had agreed to merge with John Reed’s Citicorp, forging what would become the first financial supermarket to the world. “Our company will be so diversified and in so many different areas that we will be able to withstand” the inevitable downturns to come, Mr. Weill said in April 1998.

IRS Begins Monthly Health Coverage Tax Credit PaymentsTax-News.comThe US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that it expects to be able to make advance monthly payments of the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) to some individuals beginning in mid-summer 2016. A new limited interim process for HCTC monthly payments will rely on significant assistance from participating Health Plan Administrators (HPAs) or Third Party Administrators (TPAs).

Overheard: Millennials’ BankingWall Street JournalDo smartphone-obsessed millennials still have any use for bank branches? More than you would think. Young customers certainly use mobile devices more often for banking. About 72% of millennials, defined as those being between the ages of 18 and 34, use mobile devices for banking, according to Wells Fargo. That compares with about 50% for Generation X, between 35 and 50, and just 19% for baby boomers, those older than 50.

Art of Accounting: CPAs Who Leave Public AccountingAccounting TodayLast week I wrote about a CPA going to work for a small client that was creating a controller’s position. Today I’ll talk about going to work for a client that already has a controller or working for a large company. The company that already has a controller is a much safer bet for a departing CPA.

Banking in 2016: More Hassle, Less Pay and an Identity CrisisWall Street JournalThe question is so simple it seems silly: What is a bank? Of course you know the answer. A bank pools savings and then allocates that capital. Simple, right? But that’s just the start. In 2016, a big bank also doubles as an enterprise software company and a mobile-apps developer.